Ticket for the South London Floricultural Society Exhibition of Flowers and Flowering Plants, 1841, held at the Royal Surrey Zoological Garden

Zoological collections were first opened to the general public during the early 19th century in Paris, Vienna, Dublin and London. They were immediately popular. Many gardens, such as the Surrey Zoological Garden, which had begun as a commercial venture in 1832, were so successful that people came not only to see the animals but also to view exhibitions and fireworks. At the height of its success, the Surrey Zoological Garden was also the venue for flower shows, including this seasonal horticultural show of 1841 by the South London Floricultural Society.

Such instructive and entertaining attractions continued at the Surrey Zoological Garden throughout the 1840s, being rivalled only by the success of the Great Exhibition in 1851. Unfortunately this competition proved to be too strong and the Garden was allowed to decline. In 1855, its animals were sold by auction.